Board game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A game of chance employs a board having a challenge area enclosed by an outer path that is divided into a plurality of playing positions. The path within each playing position is subdivided into a plurality of &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;properties.&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; When a player intrudes upon a property owned by another player, a challenge ensues that is settled by chance in the challenge area. The board has a plurality of apertures in the challenge area which receive the bases of playing pieces representing the opponents. Disposed beneath the board is rotatable disk whose periphery is exposed at each playing position to enable the player to turn the disk in either direction. The periphery of the disk has markings for indicating units of rotation. The disk has a plurality of apertures situated to come into register with the apertures in the board&#39;&#39;s challenge area when the disk is rotated sufficiently. A playing piece having its base in an aperture in the challenge area is supported by the underlying disk except when an aperture in the disk is brought into position under the playing piece and causes it to fall. To determine the direction and amount of disk rotation, the player casts a pair of dice. One die has its facets color coded to indicate the direction of disk rotation while the total count of the dice determines the units of disk rotation. At each player position, the board has colored indicia to indicate the direction of rotation corresponding to the color coding of the direction determining die. The opponents alternately cast the dice and move the disk as determined by the cast until one of the playing pieces falls.

United States Patent 1 Hayes [451 Feb. 11,1975

i 1 BOARD GAME APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Geoffrey Hayes, Thatches,

Broadwalk, Prestbury, England 22 Filed: May 1, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 356,101

[52] [1.5. CI. 273/134 AD, 273/134 C, 273/134 D,

273/134 G [51] Int. Cl. A63f 3/00 [58] Field of Search 273/134 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,194,854 3/1940 Howard 273/134 AD 2,460,264 1/1949 Prentice et a1 273/134 AD 3,433,483 3/1969 Ellis 273/134 AD 3,759,520 9/1973 Straitwell 273/134 AD FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 9,202 1907 Great Britain 403,761 1/1934 Great Britain 383,226 10/1923 Germany Primary Examiner-Delbert B. Lowe Attorney, Agent, or FirmWolf, Greenfield & Sacks 571 ABSTRACT A game of chance employs a board having a challenge area enclosed by an outer path that is divided into a plurality of playing positions. The path within each playing position is subdivided into a plurality of prop erties. When a player intrudes upon a property owned by another player, a challenge ensues that is settled by chance in the challenge area, The board has a plurality of apertures in the challenge area which receive the bases of playing pieces representing the opponents. Disposed beneath the board is rotatable disk whose periphery is exposed at each playing position to enable the player to turn the disk in either direction. The periphery of the disk has markings for indicating units of rotation. The disk has a plurality of apertures situated to come into register with the apertures in the boards challenge area when the disk is rotated sufficiently. A playing piece having its base in an aperture in the challenge area issupported by the underlying disk except when an aperture in the disk is brought into position under the playing piece and causes it to fall. To determine the direction and amount of disk rotation, the player casts a pair of dice. One die has its facets color coded to indicate the direction of disk rotation while the total count of the dice determines the units of disk rotation. At each player position, the board has colored indicia to indicate the direction of rotation corresponding to the color coding of the direction determining die. The opponents alternately cast the dice and move the disk as determined by the cast until one of the playing pieces falls.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures Pia *F TENIED E 11% 3.865.381

SHEET 2 OF 2 BOARD GAME APPARATUS This invention relates to apparatus for playing a game.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for playing a game including a plurality of playing pieces, and a playing board having a playing area which is divided into playing positions, the playing area having a plurality of holes or apertures therein, and a disk having a plurality of holes or apertures therein, said disk being rotatable relative to said playing board so that the holes or apertures in the disk and holes or apertures in the playing area may be brought into register, whereby a playing piece located in any one of the holes or apertures in the playing area may fall from the playing board when one of said holes or apertures in the disk moves into register with one of the holes or apertures in the playing board during movement of said disk.

Preferably said playing board is a four-sided member and includes an upper playing surface on which said playing positions are marked, and walls extending downwardly from said playing surface so that the playing board has a hollow interior.

The disk is secured to the undersurface of said play ing area and projects from said playing board at a plurality of positions around the periphery of said playing board and carries markings on or adjacent its periphery for use during rotation of said disk relative to the playing board.

The playing area of said playing board will include a path or track along which said playing pieces may move during the playing of the game, the holes or apertures in said playing area lying in an area defined by said path or track.

Apparatus according to the invention will preferably include means for determining the movement of the playing pieces along the path or track and property cards corresponding to notations or positions on said track and a supply of imitation currency notes.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a playing board of apparatus according to the invention; I

FIG. 2 is a detailed plan view of the playing board of FIG. 1 to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation of the playing board taken onthe line III -III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an underneath plan view of the playing board of FIG. 2 to a reduced scale;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a part of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4; I

FIG. 6 shows playing pieces forming part of the apparatus of the invention to an enlarged scale Referring to the drawings there is shown a playing board indicated generally" by reference numeral 2 which comprises a playing surface 4 and depending side walls, which are indicated by reference numerals 6,6A,8,8A, so that the playing board 2 is a hollow structure as seen in FIG. 3.

The playing surface 4 includes a peripheral path or track which is divided into a plurality of playing positions. These playing positions which in the preferred embodiment of the invention total 20, are formed by four corner playing positions 12, 14, 16 and 18 and four additional playing positions between each pair of corner positions, these additional playing positions being numbered 12A, 12B, 12C and 12D; 14A,14B,14C, and 14D; 16A, l6B,l6C and 16D; and 18A 18B, 18C, and 18D. I

The playing board 2 in the area of the playing surface defined by the path or track carries opposed pairs of slots, one pair being indicated byreference numerals 20 and 22, which slots are adapted to receive tabs 24,26 and 28,30 of cardboard or other material facsimiles 32, 34 of buildings.

The playing surface 4 of the playing board 2 has six holes or through bores 36,38,40,42,44 and 46 therein, three at either side of the centre point of the playing surface and at the side of each set of three holes or through bores is an area 50 or 52, the purpose of which will be explained later.

Each of the side walls of the playing board 2 has a slot and a cut-out respectively referenced 54A 54B; 56A 56B; 58A 58B; and 60A, 60B and through the slots projects a disk 62 which is secured to but rotatable relative to the playing surface 4 by means ofa stud or rivet 64 located at the centre point of the playing area 4. As will be seen from FIG. 5, the disc 62 carries peripheral markings 66, four of these markings 66A,66B,66C and 66D, being accentuated by arrow heads. The disc 62 has a plurality of holes 68,70,72,74 and 76 therein, the radial pitch of these holes from the centre point of the disk being the same as the radial pitch of the holes in the playing surface from the centre point of the playing surface. The disc 62 carries two sets of numbers each set containing the numerals 50," and l0()," these numbers being on a common diametral line and at opposite sides of the centre point of the disk 62. These numbers are located at the same pitch as the holes in the disk 62 and the playing surface 4, i.e., the numbers 50, the holes 40 and 46, and the holes 74 and 76 are, when the playing board is arranged as shown in FIGS. 1,2, 3, and 4, at the same radial distance from the centre point of the board. Similarly, the numbers 75 are at the same radial distance as the holes 38,44 and 70,72 and the numbers 100 are at the same radial distance as the hole 68 and the holes 36 and 42.

The playing board 2, referring now to FIG. 3, is constructed from a one-piece blank of strong cardboard, and comprises the side walls and the playing surface 4, the side walls being double skinned as illustrated and being formed by folding downwardly, inwardly and upwardly the extremities of the blank so as to create voids, two of which are indicated by reference numerals 78, and 80. The lower horizontal portions 82,84 of the side walls 6A and 8A, together with the corresponding portions 86 and 88 (FIG. 4) of the side walls 6 and 8, act as the supports for the playing board.

The slots and cut-outs 54A, 54B; 56A 56B; 58A 58B;

and 60A, 60B are formed by suitably cutting and scoring the blank and folding inwardly, in respect of the side walls 6A and 8A, portions 90 and 92 of the blank so as to leave a space between these portions and the undersurface of the playing surface 4, the disk 62 being located in the space and being maintained in that position by the stud or rivet 64, the disk projecting through the slots 54A, 56A, 58A, and 60A and being rotatable relative to the playing board.

Reverting to the playing surface 4, and referring now to FIG. 2, which shows in detail a representation of a fully marked out and legended surface, the playing positions 12,14,16 and 18 respectively carry pictorial illustrations of a bank, a number of playing cards, a Marshalls star, gun and shells, and an Indian War Party. The playing positons 12A, 12B, 12C and 12D respectively carry pictorial illustrations of a ranch, a gold mine, a stage coach and a saloon, the playing positions also carry printed information in areas 15A, 15B 15C and 15D, these areas respectively carrying the printed information RANCH 30," GOLD MINE 25," STAGE LINE 20, and SALOON 10. Similarly, the playing positions 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D; 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D; and 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D carry corresponding pictorial illustrations and printed information (differing property values) in areas 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D; 19A,19B, 19C, 19D; and 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D respectively.

In the area of the playing surface 4 between the facsimiles 32 and 34 of buildings, there may be printed representations 98 and 100 of carriage tracks and hoof marks respectively so that the playing surface 4 may be representative of a street scene.

The playing surface 4, at either side of each position where the disk 62 projects from the slots, carries arrows 102, 102A; 104A, 104, 106, 106A and 108, 108A, the arrows 102, 104, 106 and 108 pointing anticlockwise and being coloured red, and the arrows 102A, 104A, 106A and 108A pointing clockwise and being coloured green.

The areas 50 and 52 are marked PROPERTY OWNERS CARD HERE."

Also forming a part of the apparatus of the invention is a plurality of playing pieces in the form ofgunmen, preferably eight, two of which are shown in FIG. 6 and indicated by reference mumerals 110 and 110A, the gunmen each including a base 112, the diameter of which is slightly less than the diameter of the holes 36,38,40,42,44 and 46 in the playing surface and the holes 68, 70, 72, 74 and 76 in the disc, and a representation 114 of a man holding a gun. The gunmen are preferably of different colours but four are coloured black.

The apparatus according to the invention also includes a conventional die (not shown), a die 116, a development of which is shown in FIG. 6, on whose six faces are the numbers I, 2, 3, one series in green and the other in red (through other colours could obviously be used), a plurality of property cards (not shown) which carry printed information corresponding to that printed on the areas 15A, 158 etc of the playing positions, and a supply of imitation currency notes.

It will be appreciated that the illustrations, and other information and markings on the playing surface as well as the colours referred to above in relation to the arrows and the die 116 may be varied if desired.

A game using the apparatus as described above, is played as follows:

The structures 32 and 34 are located on the playing area as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. One of the players should take charge of the bank (that is the stock of money not allocated to the players) and this player will be responsible throughout the game for the conduct of the game and the transactions which will take place during the playing of the game. To decide who shall take charge of the bank the players may take turns. to throw the conventional die, that player throwing the highest number taking charge.

Each player is given 300 dollars from the Banks supply of currency notes. the remainder of the money remaining with the bank" for use during the game. Each player chooses a coloured gunman and all the property cards are placed in position on the playing surface 4 so that they cover their respective properties on the track or path.

The game may now be commenced.

Starting at the BANK" position 12 on the path or track, each player takes it in turn to throw the ordinary die, the players moving their playing piece in a clockwise direction along the path or track the number of positions corresponding to the number indicated by the die. If a player lands on a property that has not already been bought, he may buy that property, paying to the bank the cost of the property (indicated on the property card on that position) and removing the property card from the property. The player concerned keeps the removed property card to show that he owns" the property and so that he may benefit from owning" the property during further play. If for example a player lands on that property denoted by reference numeral 128, he will turn over the card to show that, if he desires to buy the property, he must pay the bank the sum of 25 dollars. He removes the card and keeps it for future use.

Play continues until all the property has been bought and the buyers keep the property cards as described above. If during the playing of a game a player lands on playing position 14, Le, the playing cards, he pays a gambling debt of 25 to the Bank. If a player lands on playing position 16, i.e., the Marshalls star and gun he pays bail to the Bank. If a player lands on playing position 18, i.e., the Indian War Party, he loses his highest value property, the corresponding property card being placed back onto the board in the relevant playing position to be bought (if wanted) by the next player to land on that playing position. If a player lands on the Indian War Party and he has no property he is out of the game.

Should a player not be able to pay a gambling debt or pay his bail he may sell property in order to raise the money, the money for property sold being paid by the Bank and the property card(s) sold being placed back on the relevant position(s) to be bought again in the usual way. If the player cannot raise the money by this method, then he is out of the game.

As the players go around the path or track, the players receive the total value of their properties from the Bank each time the players land on the Bank or pass it.

The above movements of the playing pieces around the path or track are determined by each player in turn throwing the conventional die, the playing piece being moved the number of playing positions corresponding to the number indicated on the die.

If during the playing of a game a player's playing piece lands on a property owned by another player he must challenge that player to a gunfight. The gunfight wheel (disk 62) is turned until the two sets of numbers 50 75" and are visible through the holes 36,38,40 and 42,44 and 46 in the playing surface 4. In these positions of the numbers, the holes 68,70,72,74 and 76 in the disk 62 will not be visible. The markings 66A, 66B, 66C, and 66D, will be located centrally relative to their respective slots and apertures. The challenger (that player landing on the property) must then hire his gunman (one of the black playing pieces) and i choose which end of the street (board) he wants to fight from. When the gunmen are in their appropriate positions on the playing surface, the card of the property being fought for is placed in the area 50 (or area 52) next to the property owners gunman.

Should a player (challenger or property owner) not be able to afford to buy a gunman, even by selling some property, this being permissible with the exception of course that the property being fought for cannot be sold, then he must enter the gunfight using his own gunman (playing piece), remembering from which position his playing piece came so that he can return the playing piece to the same position should he win the gunfight. When using his own gunman (playing piece) the player is allowed, if he chooses, to place his gunman in the 100 hole in the playing surface.

To commence the gunfight the challenger goes first by throwing the conventional die and the die 116 together, the gunfight wheel (disk 62) being turned the number of markings 66 corresponding to the total number shown by the two dice and in the direction indicated by the colour shown on the die 116, as previously mentioned red anticlockwise and green clockwise. Then the property owner throws the two dice and similarly rotates the gunfight wheel (disk 62). This is continued until one of the holes in the disk 62 comes to a position (either wholly or partly) beneath one of the holes in the playing surface 49 so that the gunman falls through the hole or falls over due to part of its support being moved from beneath it. The player whose gunman has remained standing is the winner of the gunfight and that player keeps the property card and, in the case of a hired gunman (black playing piece), also keeps that hired gunman for future use, at which time, if he wishes, he may place the gunman in the 100 hole at no cost.

The player whose gunman falls has lost the fight and in the case of his using a hired gunman (black playing piece) the hired gunman is returned to the Bank, but the player is not out of the game because he still has his playing piece. If however, a player loses the gunfight and he is fighting with his playing piece, then he is out of the game.

When a player is out of the game any property cards he owns" will be placed back onto their relevant playing positions so that they may be bought by the remaining players, and any money which he still has is returned to the Bank.

The player having the last playing piece on the playing surface is the winner, or after an agreed time has elapsed, the player who is worth the most when the value of his property is added to his money is the winner.

I claim:

1. A board game apparatus comprising 1. a board having an outer path enclosing a challenge area, the outer path being divided into a plurality of playing positions, the path within each playing position being subdivided into a plurality of property areas, the board having a plurality of apertures therethrough in the challenge area,

2. a plurality of playing pieces, each piece having its base configured to fit within the apertures in the challenge area of the board,

3. a disk disposed beneath the board and mounted for rotation relative to the board, the periphery of the disk being exposed at each playing position whereby the disk can be turned in either direction by the player, the periphery of the disk bearing markings for indicating units of rotation of the disk, the disk having a plurality of apertures disposed to come into register with the apertures in the board's challenge area when the disk is rotated sufficiently, the disk bearing starting position indicia situated to be brought into registry with at least one of the apertures in the challenge area, the disk being adapted to support a playing piece having its base situated in an aperture in the challenge area except when an aperture in the disk is brought into substantial registry therewith,

4. a die for determining by chance the direction of rotation of the disk, the die having half of its faces color coded to indicate one direction of disk rotation and having the other faces color coded to indicate the counter direction of disk rotation,

5. the board having colored indicia thereon at each playing position that indicates the direction of rotation corresponding to the color coding of the die,

6. and means for determining by chance the number of units of rotation of the disk to be made by a player. 

1. A board game apparatus comprising
 1. a board having an outer path enclosing a challenge area, the outer path being divided into a plurality of playing positions, the path within each playing position being subdivided into a plurality of ''''property'''' areas, the board having a plurality of apertures therethrough in the challenge area,
 2. a plurality of playing pieces, each piece having its base configured to fit within the apertures in the challenge area of the board,
 3. a disk disposed beneath the board and mounted for rotation relative to the board, the periphery of the disk being exposed at each playing position whereby the disk can be turned in either direction by the player, the periphery of the disk bearing markings for indicating units of rotation of the disk, the disk having a plurality of aperTures disposed to come into register with the apertures in the board''s challenge area when the disk is rotated sufficiently, the disk bearing starting position indicia situated to be brought into registry with at least one of the apertures in the challenge area, the disk being adapted to support a playing piece having its base situated in an aperture in the challenge area except when an aperture in the disk is brought into substantial registry therewith,
 4. a die for determining by chance the direction of rotation of the disk, the die having half of its faces color coded to indicate one direction of disk rotation and having the other faces color coded to indicate the counter direction of disk rotation,
 5. the board having colored indicia thereon at each playing position that indicates the direction of rotation corresponding to the color coding of the die,
 6. and means for determining by chance the number of units of rotation of the disk to be made by a player.
 2. a plurality of playing pieces, each piece having its base configured to fit within the apertures in the challenge area of the board,
 3. a disk disposed beneath the board and mounted for rotation relative to the board, the periphery of the disk being exposed at each playing position whereby the disk can be turned in either direction by the player, the periphery of the disk bearing markings for indicating units of rotation of the disk, the disk having a plurality of aperTures disposed to come into register with the apertures in the board''s challenge area when the disk is rotated sufficiently, the disk bearing starting position indicia situated to be brought into registry with at least one of the apertures in the challenge area, the disk being adapted to support a playing piece having its base situated in an aperture in the challenge area except when an aperture in the disk is brought into substantial registry therewith,
 4. a die for determining by chance the direction of rotation of the disk, the die having half of its faces color coded to indicate one direction of disk rotation and having the other faces color coded to indicate the counter direction of disk rotation,
 5. the board having colored indicia thereon at each playing position that indicates the direction of rotation corresponding to the color coding of the die,
 6. and means for determining by chance the number of units of rotation of the disk to be made by a player. 